The Season
by Mecoda
Summary: The first day of mating season is a time for joy and celebration. For Sonic, however, it is a painful reminder of the destruction of South Island and the hedgehog tribe that occupied it. Now Sonic seeks to forget the pain of his past with the only other survivor of the catastrophe, Amy Rose. But will seeing her help or hurt him? And what has Amy been hiding from him for 13 years?


**The Season**

I remembered everything. The lush grass beneath my bare feet, the light of the bonfire illuminating the dark night covering the South Island, my mother, running her gentle fingers through my short, blue baby quills, it all entered my mind on this damp spring night. Tonight, just like that distant night so many years ago, marked the beginning of the mating season on South Island.

My thoughts wandered through my memories like they did every year at this time. I remembered how nervous I was as my mother and father purred reassuring words into my ear.

"You have been chosen to pick your future mate early, my son," my mother whispered in my ear sweetly.

My father sat tall with pride beside my mother, who held me in her lap. It filled me with joy that the gleam in his eye was meant for me. That didn't stop me from being nervous though. "It is a great honor," Father reminded me. "Do you know why?"

"Because it means the Elder chose me to be Alpha next!" I chirped in joy. In my mind that was the only good part of this. Every little boy dreamed of being picked by the Elders to be the next Alpha. It was the same as how every little girl dreamed of being a princess.

"That is right," my father smiled with pride. "You will be the Alpha male. But you must choose an Alpha female so they can train her as a leader along side you."

I shuddered at the responsibility I was being given. I was only 8-years-old and I was choosing a leader and my future bride. What could be more frightening. "What if I choose wrong?"

My father looked down at me worried. Emotions were not something he was familiar with himself. How could he explain them to a child? Especially when there was so much at stake. This was not only a risk of my happiness and my tribe but also my very life. When you choose your mate you must give them your name. This may seem like no big deal but it was huge. Every person had two names in the South Island tribes. The name they were given by their tribe and the traditional name given by their parents, their birth name. Using this name, legend had it that you could control the bearer of the name. You could basically enslave them. That is why the only people who ever know your birth name are your parents and your mate. It was only a superstition of course, but we were a superstitious people. I believed in the old stories that the Elders told around the fire.

"You will not choose wrong, Sonic," my mother assured me, using my tribal name in front of the many other hedgehog tribe members who were waiting just as intently as us. "You will feel something very powerful in here," she explained, putting her hand on my heart. "It may not feel like love at first but I promise that it will be right as long as you feel it."

I puzzled over my mother's words of wisdom. She just smiled down at me and gave me a kiss on the top of my head, pulling me in closer to her. My father swooped both of us into his arms and pulled us into his lap. We sat there in silence as I cuddled into the thin, summer furs my mother wore. The softness comforted me as I began to shake nervously.

I felt my parents both stiffen. I saw them looking wide eyed and I followed their gaze up to where they were looking. I gawked at the sight of two older hedgehogs looming above us. The one ahead of the other was the Head Elder, a brittle yet serious old woman the tribe affectionately called Mama. Behind her stood the current Alpha who I would replace after his death. He was old, like Mama, but not brittle. In fact he was as tall, strong and silent as a mountain. For this reason his tribal name was just that, Mountain, or Mount, as I called him.

"It is time," Mama said, fiddling with the many charms and trinkets she owned. Her expression was rock hard but there was a softness in her eyes that was rarely seen. She was trying to see into the future, my future in particular, as she glared at me. I shivered but I saw Mount give me a reassuring smile from behind her.

I remembered his words on the day Mama had chosen me. _"Do not fear child,"_ he had said, _"for I have been where you are now. I have felt what you are feeling."_

I gathered my courage and slid out from my mother's lap, carefully taking the hand of Mama and letting her guide me away from the rest of the tribe. As we approached the forest I caught site of the sacred mating place, the Canopy. It was named because it was a clearing covered by the leaves of a group of twisted trees. The leaves were fresh and vibrant green. They created a thick covering that allowed only a minimal amount of moonlight to touch the forest floor. I was beginning to see the sparks of a campfire in the Canopy. Around it sat a group of young girls all around my age. They were the 'worthy' ones Mama had talked about gathering.

"You may see them now," Mama spoke calmly. I gulped as I looked some of them over. They were all very pretty. They watched me with curiousity, there wasn't even a hint of anxiety in their eyes. It was intimidating.

"Hello," I squeaked, walking up to them and sitting in an empty spot around the fire.

They said nothing.

"Um…I'm Sonic."

Still nothing.

"What are your names?"

…I think one of them just blinked.

I sat there awkwardly. I felt like I was being judged. I turned over to see oldest one who I knew from the classes Mama gave us. Her name was Light. I had always admired her.

"Hello, Light," I tried to break the ice. She just looked away from me with a huff. Ouch.

The youngest in the group started to move from her crossed legged position. I watched as she approached. She was adorable. She had pale pink fur and dark green eyes that brightened in the fire light. Not to mention she was small. I would have mistaken her for a toddler except for the fact that she moved so confidently that she had to be older. She couldn't be any older than 5-years-old though. Her quills were still up like a hedgehogs instead of being down like an echidnas. All girls wore their quills like echidnas after the age of five afterall. She walked guardedly over to me and looked me in the eye. There I saw something I didn't see in any of the other girls, fear. I could practically feel a shiver run down my spine as she placed her hand on my cheek. She gave me a shy smile. It was almost a questioning expression. I smiled back at her and we made a silent agreement. She was mine.

"What is your name?" I asked.

She looked both ways to make sure no one was listening and whispered her birth name in my ear, "Sunki." I recognized the meaning. It meant 'to catch.'

I snickered at the irony and she gave me a funny look. "Igosha," I whispered to her just as timidly. She understood immediately and giggled with me. My name meant 'to run' and her's meant 'to catch.' This, in my eyes had been proof that I had made the right choice.

Mama came up behind me and placed a frail, wrinkled hand on Sunki's shoulder. "This one?" she asked for confirmation. I just nodded.

She smiled before taking the small girl up in her arms. "You have a taste for the young ones, eh?"

Her words stung as though I had been caught with my hand in the cookie jar. I was eight and she was five. We could be friends, could we not? Mother frequently called Father her bestfriend. What was the difference between mates and friends?

"Clara and I were three years apart as well," Mount said smoothly. I recognized the name of our recently dead Alpha female and couldn't help but shiver. All the other girls did the same.

Mama cleared her throat and muttered an apology.

"She is with Chaos now," he said simply. I turned to see all the other girls were watching him in admiration at his emotional strength. They practically glowed with their respect for his position and I mentally complained to myself. Where was their worship for the Alpha role just a few seconds ago when I needed it?

My attention was taken once again when I heard Sunki whimper. Mama had ignored my pause and just cotinued to walk away with the girl in her arms. Sunki was obviously not pleased with the distance between us. Neither was I. I had just chosen my life long companion and here I was being seperated from her already by a stubborn old woman. I scurried to keep up with Mama and noticed Sunki was shaking nervously in the woman's arms. I realized I had just placed the weight of our tribe on her fragile little shoulders and I felt the slightest bit of cocern for her. I didn't know much about girls but I did know about five-year-olds. I had a sister her age after all. I began to make faces at her, sticking my tongue out and contorting my face in the strangest ways I could. I was rewarded with a smile and a weak giggle.

As we approached the edge of the forest once again Mama put Sunki down and went ahead with Mount in tow to introduce our arrival as the future leaders. Sunki scurried over to me and clung to my fur. "I'm afraid!" she whimpered.

"I know," I said, worried. I tried to think of words before I decided on sharing with her what Mount had said to me. "'I have been where you are. I have felt what you are feeling' Mount told me that. It's true for us too. But we'll be alright."

Sunki's wide eyes looked at me for guidance and leader ship. I felt in that moment that the small child had given me her devotion. She stared at me as though I could do no wrong. I wiggled out of her grasp at my discomfort with her gaze and she got pushed back. She stmbled at fell flat on he toosh but didn't seem to care much. She just got up and walked over to me for another hug. My only choice was to distract her.

"Do you know my name?"

She nodded, "Igosha."

"I mean my tribal name."

She still nodded. "Of course! Everyone knows your tribal name! You're Sonic, the next Alpha!"

I smiled nervously. "Yes…what's your name."

Her eyes glimmered with happiness that I asked for her name, "My name is-"

The shrill scream of a frightened woman peirced through the peace of the night. My ears flickered and I ran past Sunki to investigate. I ran like a blue blur, displaying the skills that had earned me the name Sonic. Sunki followed desperately behind me, trying to keep up.

"No!" I called. "Stay here!" If something was wrong I didn't want a little girl to see anything bad.

She obeyed my command with blind faith and sat in that spot. I ran out of the forest and found the reason for all my modern struggles. My village was burning along with it's people. Large metal beasts were raining from the sky as they spit fire from their hands onto our wooden shacks. The lush grass burned, the bonfire worked with the monster's fire and spread. My home was being destroyed. I searched the crowd for my parents. Theye were nowhere to be seen but I did catch a glimpse of Mama withering in pain as the flames engulfed her. I had to find my mother. That became my only purpose. I ran into the Hell zone and avoided every obstacle. Most people were running in the opposite direction of me towards the forest. I had a different priority though.

I ran through the village until I heard a shreik. "Sonic!"

I ran towards the sound to find my mother in tears over a black mass of burned material. I did not know until much later in life that it must have been my father.

"Sonic! Where is she?" she asked through sobs. It took me a second to understand she was refering to my Sunki.

"She stayed where I told her to," I explained as calmly as I could.

My mother gripped my shoulders firmly. "Lead me to her. We'll go get her and then I need to take you both somewhere."

"Where?" I insisted, refusing to move.

"Do as I say!" she yelled.

Mother had never yelled at me before. I jumped at the harsh sound of her voice and moved in the direction of the forest.

"She's in the woods near the Canopy!" I yelled back to my mother. I sprinted as fast as I could go and my mother, made fast from eight years of chasing me, followed. The village was empty except for the burnt, unrecognizable carcasses littering the ground. I ran past the rubble of destroyed buildings to see that the last of our people were arriving in the forest. I smiled, knowing we were close to Sunki and the safety of a forest that had been standing for thousands of years. Chaos dangled a sliver of hope in front of me and used it to stab me in the heart only seconds later. The steel beasts burnt the forest to a crisp with all the villagers in it. Including Sunki, my Sunki who could have followed me to safety if I had not ordered her to stay behind. I felt like I had commanded her death and she naively obeyed my will.

_ But I didn't know,_ I told myself. _How could I know_? The answer was I couldn't. But that didn't change the fact that I had killed her.

"Come, Sonic," my mother said, trying to hold my hand and spirit me away.

"But-"

"Come!" She was desperate. She had lost her mate, her home, probably my sister and her hope. She was not about to lose me.

I allowed her to drag me away from the only place I had ever known to be safe being destroyed. But as she swooped me up and carried me I looked over her shoulder to glare with loathing on a symbol painted onto the metal beasts, the symbol of the Eggman Empire.

"Sonic," a sweet voice whispered to me. I opened my eyes to see a pale pink hedgehog girl, no, woman, looking back at me with emerald eyes.

I realized after a breif moment of examining my suroundings thay I was in her house dozing on her couch.

"Sorry, Amy," I chuckled awkwardly. It wasn't the first time I had found myself sleeping on Amy's couch after sneaking in, usually through an unlocked window. It might sound weird but every year on this particular day, the day where I should go to the Canopy and greive the loss of my home and Sunki I came here.

It all seemed so unreal to me. Not the fact that the entire hedgehog race except for Amy and I had been wiped out but that my Sunki was dead. Every time I came here on this day, the first day of the mating season, I felt like she was here with me and I was starting to understand why. I did have sneaking suspicions about Amy.

"You should really go under the Canopy," Amy hissed in disapproval. "This would have been you and your mate's first night of, um…"

"Sex?" I asked bluntly. I laughed as Amy grabbed a pillow and proceeded to hit me in the face with it.

"Chaos, Sonic! Don't use such ugly language!"

I laughed more, stealing the pillow from her grip and launching the soft object at her head. It bounced off her leaving her with a bewildered look on her face. I couldn't help but laugh harder as she came back to reality and rolled her eyes at me.

"I'm sorry Ames, did I say sex? I meant fucking."

Her mouth gaped open as she held back laughter and pretended to be angry. "I will wash your mouth out with soap!"

"Whatever."

She huffed at me, fighting off her smile and got off the couch. I followed as she tried to stomp off into the kitchen. I was having none of that though. It was way too much fun to watch her like this. Besides, as the only remainig South Islanders we deserved to have a little fun and forget things today. I noticed as Amy unintentionally swung her hips that the tip of her tail was showing under her baby doll night gown. I snickered and took my opportunity. Quickly I lunged forward just enough to pull her tail lightly. She gasped at the gesture and turned around. I ran and felt her fuming figure was in hot pursuit of me. I knew it was awful of me to do that. After all, a pulled tail was the equivalent of a slapped butt. However, I just couldn't help myself.

I jumped over her coffee table while she just ran over it, knocking over the vases and flower arrangements in the process.

"I will kill you for this!" She yelled playfully.

"Oh, come on! Your tail was just asking to be tugged."

She caught up to me and tackled me to the ground. There I was on her lamenent floor as she aggreasively pinned my wrists above my head and growled like an angry mama bear. Also, she may not have noticed, but I was painfully aware of the fact that she was stradling me. If it had been anyone but Amy, this would have turned me on. With Amy it was beyond a turn on. It was more of a turn-around-and-let-me-take-you-now moment. Damn mating season. I blamed the 'spring fever' for every naughty thought that passed through my head.

"I'm yours now," I prompted. "How're you gonna punish me?'

Her growls became lowder.

"Ooooo! I'm so scared," I teased her with my mock fear.

Without any warning she lunged down and bit me. Yes, you heard correctly. She bit me on the neck. Giving a satsfied snort the petite female hopped off me and attempted to skip away from me. I laughed lowly, darkly. Did she really think it was that easy? She was mine now.

I got up on my knees and once again grabbed her tiny tail but this time I pulled her back so she fell into my lap. I nuzzled into her neck as she wiggled to get out of my grasp. If she had really wanted to leave I would have let her but I could feel her body shake with her silent giggling. I tickled her sides and she fell back against my chest, helpless and completely dependent on my decision to hold her. I continued this half snuggle half tickle-fest as Amy squirmed mildly in my arms until the strap of her nightgown fell off, revealing a bare shoulder. Without giving it a second thought I found myself kissing the bare skin. I heard a small gasp come from Amy. She tried to get up but I kept my arms locked in place. Her giggles turned into sighs and moan like breaths as I rubbed up and down her sides. I felt her instinctively start to grind her back against my chest, finding the perfect place for her body to lean against mine. When she did I started to nibble at her with excitement. I felt like a missing part of me had just been snapped into place and I had no idea why. She turned her head so she was half facing me and I raised my mouth until our lips brushed together. I kissed her with all the passion and gentle warmth that I was feeling for her. We were body-on-body, lips-on-lips. The only way I could think to make it better was skin-on-skin. Without my consent my fingers began to wander until they were playing with the hem of her nightgown and slowly raising it up her thighs. She got the signal but didn't like it one bit.

"This isn't right," Amy said, ripping herself from my arms. I felt the sting as though some one had just cut off my leg. I needed her close again. I grabbed for her but she just avoided me.

Amy walked towards her front door and opened it. "I think you should leave now."

I stayed glued in place.

"You're disgracing her memory by being here with me. Your hers, does that not matter to you?"

Amy sounded hurt like she was the one being cheated on, not my dead future mate from thirteen years ago. My pre-existing suspicions began to arise. Why did I feel the need to come here every year? Why had Amy been so obsessed with me when we were kids? Why did she feel betrayed now? It all made sense.

"Why should I care?" I asked, feuling the fire, purposely. I was hoping Amy was Sunki. If she was then she'd surely slip up or admit it. Then I could have my mate.

"She was your mate!" She screamed, losing her temper and slamming the door shut to emphasize her point. "Did you not care at all? Was it all just because you wanted to be Alpha? She probably thought you cared! She probably thought you would grow to love her but she was wrong! As soon as the slightest bit of spring fever hits you, you just forget about her and try some other girl! You can't even restrain yourself for her! She would have sat in that forest and burnt to death for you, because you asked her to!"

"How do you know about that!" I yelled at her. I lost my temper in a way I had never lost it before. She winced and I saw instant tears brew in her eyes as I was suddenly pinning her against a wall. I didn't even know how I had gotten there. I didn't remember moving but then again I was nearly blinded by rage at the memory. In my mind's eye Sunki was sitting down in a burning forest, waiting for me to come get her.

"I'm sorry," she whimpered. "I shouldn't have said that."

I realized that I was gripping her arms a little too roughly and I lightened my grip but refused to let her move from the wall.

"How do you know that?" I said, still angry but I lowered my voice. She could hear the venom seeping from my words and stayed quiet.

I decided on a different approach. "Do you know my name?"

She nodded slowly, looking away from me, "Sonic."

"Don't play dumb with me."

Her eyes shut tight before she finally built up the courageto look me in the eye.

"Igosha."

"And what does it mean?"

She gulped down her fear as I visibly softened and began to run my fingers down to her hips and pull her closer to me so our bodies pressed against eachother.

"To run."

I smiled. "And you caught me."

I leaned down to kiss her as we took our previous kiss to the next level. Our tongues started to dance in a dangerous way. I lifted her up, pressing her aainst the wall and wrapping her legs aroung me. I played with the hem of her dress until her pantieless privates wereup against my crotch where my member was starting to appear from the arousal. Our lips moved together still as Amy swung her hips to rub against my lower region. The 'little monster' she was craving soon appeared. I moved my mouth down to her neck and began to nip and suck at the soft skin there.

"Shouldn't we wait and do this under the Canopy?" She whispered in my ear as I teased her with the head my tool.

"I've waited thirteen years for this. Don't make me wait another second." I mumbled my words against her skin.

I pushed myself in as swiftly as possible. I figured getting past Amy's wall should be done like taking off a band-aid. The slower you went the more it hurt. I appeared to be right because after sucking in a breath through her teeth Amy appeared to calm down immediately. Her tensed muscles around me started to relax and her hips nudged against mine, asking for me to continue. This time I went slowly. I soaked in her body. I watched as her face turned into a peaceful smile and a thick blush crossed her cheeks. I felt the wet smooth feeling of her walls surrounding me as I rubbed my shaft in and out of her slowly. The way her mouth opened and moaned my name to the ceiling was titilating. I wanted her now more than ever. I watched her hands travel to the remaining strap on her nightgown and push it down so that the fabric fell. Now the only thing covering her was a flimsy piece of silk hanging on her hips. Her breast weren't particulary large or small. I'll be honest though. I didn't give a flying fuck. They were a part of her body and as far as I was concerned her body was mine. Mine. Oh the word made me want to scream in pleasure. She was mine to hold, mine to touch, mine to make love to until dawn. No one else could have her. I placed tender kisses down her chest making her sigh contently. Chaos almighty, it had to be a sin to love a woman so much. There had to be a punishment for this kind of mind blowing pleasure. In, out, in, out. her moans, my moans, her body, all mine.

"Yes, yes…Sonic…mmh."

I loved it.

I began to quicken the pace from our steady flow. It was only the slightest increase in speed but it made all the difference. She went crazy. I needed to speed up more just to please her. Faster turned faster which turned into deeper which turned into harder until finally my knees let out and we were going at it like wild animals on the floor. In, out, in, out.

"Sonic…"

"Say my name."

"Sonic."

"Louder."

"Sonic!"

"That's it, Baby."

"Sonic! Oh…yes!"

My mind was blown. There was nothing but my hips rocking into hers as we connected in the most intimate way a man and a woman could. It was ending to quickly . I felt her moist orgasm on me and knew I wasn't too far either. I focused all my energy on the moment. I couldn't let my mind slip away now. In, out, in, out, in, out, IN, OUT, IN, OUT, IN, OUT, IN! I finished.

I flopped down, putting all my body weight on Amy. I didn't have the will power to hold myself over her.

"Mmm," I heard her soft whimper in my ear. I looked at her face to see her eyes closed peacefully. "Take me to bed." She ordered.

I chuckled lightly and gave her lips a sweet, short kiss. Using the last bits of my strength I lifted her into my arms and carried her bridle style up the stairs.

"Will you stay with me tonight?" Her tired voice asked me in a hushed tone.

_She better stop whispering in my ear_, I thought, _or I'll have to take her for another round. _

"Hell no!" I yelled, teasingly.

She reached over with one hand and sacked me in the back of the head as I started to walk down the hall to her room.

"I'm kidding," I assured her, "you caught me fair and square, Sunki."

She smiled again and cuddled into my chest as I layed her down on the bed. She pulled me into bed beside her and I held as close to me as I could get her. She purred aloud.

"I love you."

I smiled. "I love you too, Babe."


End file.
